Questions?

The coaching staff is set. The front office is set, although the Bears may still hire a pro scout to help new guy Tim Ruskell. The roster is pretty well set, too, even if the team could add another contributor or two before training camp opens in Bourbonnais.

For those reasons, the weekly call for questions asks readers to take a longer, broader view.

Let's have some fun this week!

So, what do you want to know about the Bears or anything related to the Bears?

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18 Comments

With Dez Bryant the cowboys are loaded at WR, and I hear rumors that P. Crayton is on the block. I know Jerry & co seem to think all is well at WR, but this guy is worth taking a look at. What are the chances of the Bears making an offer?

How set are we at runningback in Martzies offense? I look at a guy like Brandon Minor and I see the potential big back that this roster is missing, and if he wasn't injured and a terrible fit into the Rodriguez system, he would have been drafted. That said what kind of shot will he get with the Bears?

Even with the departure of Kevin Payne, the Bears still have 6 safeties: Harris, Wright, Steltz, Bullocks, Manning and Afalava. Assuming none of them get injured or traded and the team must trim down to 5, which one is least likely to make the 53-man roster?

What has the ownership's stance been as far as the new labor deal? There are some owners who are playing hardball, and seem to be forcing a lockout. An article earlier this year said that Virginia and Michael are relatively well-regarded in the league ownership circles, and I am curious as to what they think? Are they dead-set on solving this, or are they willing to wait it out and see what happens?

Whatever happened to the Bears Adrian Peterson? I remember talk of the Bears were going to releasing him, but dont remember them doing it. And do you think this year Garret Wolfe gets cut? They'd be foolish to use him instead of Bell!

Historically it's almost a given. A player we were expecting to see at the bottom of the roster, or even cut, will come out of the wood-work in the pre-season to make an impact during the regular season. Do you agree with that, and if so, who is your pick?

Neil, which member of Chicago's famed 85 defense do you think was the key member?

I'd go with Dan Hampton, not only because of Chicago's win/loss record when he was out of the lineup, but because of Danimal's ability to play inside or outside up front, and at a pro-bowl level at either tackle or end. A lot of experts say a great defense starts up front, I agree, and this is why I think the key member on the 85 unit was Hampton. The Danimal is probably one of the greatest all-around defensive linemen to ever play GO BEARS!!

In reading that report about Sayers being down on the Bears, I noticed that a writer quickly associated last season's disappointing outing to Urlacher's absence from the line up. I have read some different opinions about this, but in retrospect, how big a factor do you think Urlacher's absence was? I feel like it was minor compared to our problems on offense, our secondary issues, and our Cover 2 scheme not getting the key performance it needed from the D-Line. Seems to me Urlacher's absence while symbolically significant was not to much of a factor considering the depth we had at Linebacker.

Neil would you agree the trenches have been the Bears biggest issue along with the developmental issues of the Lovie staff? That said a lot has been said about Webb with his size and athleticism do you think they are setting us up for him to be a starter? And if Garza graded out so well why was short yardage to his side most always stuffed?

With all of our offseason moves I'm very optimistic and excited about this coming season yet I can't seem to get the turf (or lack there of) at Soldier Field off my mind. Will the Bears pressure the Chicago Park District to install some new artifical tuft that can withstand the lakefront weather and protect our players from injury on that suspect playing field?

Is there anything Mike Martz is doing to change Cutlers mechanics? I know he's a huge fan of Cutler publicly. But have you heard anything from others on the team that make you believe that Martz really believes Cutler is the most physically gifted qb he's ever been around?

Also, is Kevin Schaffer really excited about the opportunity to play Guard? Or does he prefer his natural position at Right Tackle?

With Olin Kreutz going into his 12th year, played 170+ games, voted to 6 pro bowls would you consider him in the top 5 best lineman to play for the Bears since the 60's?
Also would you consider Olin Kreutz the best center to start and end a career with the Bears?

On the Bears O-line, it seems at though the guarranteed starters are Williams at LT, Kreutz at C, and Garza at RG. Meanwhile, People have said that Omiyale will win the RT position. And while that's his natural spot, why does that make him the starter? He has NO history of being good, so why do we favor him over Kevin Shaffer? I personally think it should be Shaffer at RT, cut Omiyale, and put Beekman at LG.

Which game(s) will the Bears wear the 1940s throwback uniform of the Monsters of the Midway? Also, any chance we will one day see an alternate uniform that sports the old helmets with the plain white “C”? Perhaps for the 2013 season to honor the 50th anniversary of the ’63 championship?